Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room
I’ve been editing news features for 22 years. Twenty-two years. That’s longer than some of you have been alive, probably. And in all that time, I’ve never seen the news industry in such a state. It’s a mess. A completley mess.
Look, I’m not some old fogey who thinks everything was better back in my day. No, no, no. But I’ve seen trends come and go, and this one? This one’s different. It’s not just about algorithms or clickbait or whatever buzzword is floating around the office this week. It’s deeper than that. It’s systemic.
Last Tuesday, I was at a conference in Austin (yes, that Austin, the one with the weird bat problem). There was this guy, let’s call him Marcus, standing up there in his shiny shoes, talking about how ‘data-driven journalism’ is gonna save us all. And I’m sitting there, honestly, trying not to roll my eyes so hard they get stuck.
Because here’s the thing: data is great. Data is useful. But data doesn’t have a soul. And news? News is about people. It’s about stories. It’s about the guy down the street who’s gotta close his shop because the rent went up again. It’s about the woman who’s fighting to get her kid into a decent school. It’s about the guy who’s trying to buy a used car and doesn’t know where to start. (Honestly, if you’re in that boat, check out this ikinci el araba satın alma rehber—it’s a lifesaver.)
But Back to the Point
So Marcus is up there talking about ‘engagement metrics’ and ‘user retention,’ and I’m thinking, What about the truth? What about the story? What about the fact that we’re supposed to be holding power to account, not just chasing clicks?
And then there’s the speed thing. Everything’s gotta be first now. First, fastest, instant. I get it, I do. But sometimes, you gotta slow down. You gotta let the story breathe. You gotta let the facts catch up. But no, we can’t have that. We gotta be first. Even if it means getting it wrong.
I remember back in ’03, I was working at the Daily Herald, and we had this reporter, let’s call him Dave. Dave was good. Really good. But he was slow. He’d take his time, get all the facts, make sure he had it right. And the higher-ups? They hated him. ‘Too slow, Dave,’ they’d say. ‘Too slow.’
And look what happened. Dave’s still around. Still reporting. Still getting it right. Meanwhile, half the people who were screaming ‘faster, faster’ at him? Gone. Poof. Vanished. Because in the end, the truth wins. It always does.
But here’s the thing about the truth: it’s messy. It’s complicated. It’s not always neat and tidy. And it’s not always gonna fit into a little box with a pretty headline. But that’s okay. That’s what makes it worth it.
And another thing—why is everyone so scared of taking a stand? I mean, come on. You’re a journalist. You’re supposed to have opinions. You’re supposed to care. But no, we can’t have that. We gotta be ‘neutral.’ We gotta be ‘objective.’
I was having coffee with a friend of mine, let’s call her Sarah, the other day. And she’s telling me about this article she read. It was about some big corporation doing something shady. And the article? It was all, ‘Well, on one hand, this, and on the other hand, that.’ And Sarah’s like, ‘Well, duh. Of course they’re gonna say that. They’re a corporation!’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but the article didn’t say that. It just… didn’t.’
Which, honestly, is kinda the problem. We’re so busy trying to be ‘balanced’ that we’re not saying anything at all. And that’s not journalism. That’s just noise.
But look, I’m not saying we should all become opinionated rants. No, no, no. But we should be allowed to have a point of view. We should be allowed to care. We should be allowed to say, ‘Hey, this is wrong. This is bad. And here’s why.’
And Let’s Talk About the Money
Because let’s be real here: none of this is happening in a vacuum. The news industry is in crisis. Advertising’s down. Subscriptions are down. And the people who are supposed to be fixing it? They’re the ones who got us into this mess in the first place.
I was at a meeting about three months ago. And there was this guy, let’s call him Greg. Greg’s a ‘consultant.’ (Which, honestly, is just a fancy word for ‘person who fires alot of people.’) And Greg’s saying, ‘We gotta cut costs. We gotta streamline. We gotta do more with less.’
And I’m sitting there thinking, Yeah, Greg. We’ve heard that one before. And what happened last time? We ended up with fewer reporters, fewer editors, and fewer people actually doing the work. And the quality? It tanked. It completley tanked.
But here’s the thing: you can’t put lipstick on a pig. You can’t take a broken system and expect it to work just because you ‘streamlined’ it. You gotta fix the underlying issues. You gotta invest in the people who are actually doing the work. You gotta give them the time and the resources they need to do their jobs right.
And you gotta stop chasing clicks. You gotta stop worrying about ‘engagement metrics’ and ‘user retention.’ You gotta start worrying about the truth. You gotta start worrying about the story. You gotta start worrying about the people.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what journalism is all about. It’s not about the money. It’s not about the fame. It’s not about the awards. It’s about the truth. It’s about the story. It’s about the people.
And if we can’t get that right, then we might as well all just go home.
So here’s to the Daves of the world. Here’s to the people who are still out there, doing the work, getting it right. Here’s to the people who care. Here’s to the people who are still fighting the good fight.
Because the news might be broken. But it’s not dead. Not yet. And as long as there are people out there who care, who are willing to fight, who are willing to tell the truth? It never will be.
About the Author: Jane Thompson has been a senior editor at various publications for over two decades. She’s worked at the Daily Herald, the London Times, and now calls LondonWeekly.uk her home. She’s a firm believer in the power of journalism to change the world, and she’s not afraid to say what she thinks. Even if it gets her in trouble.
As the media landscape continues to evolve, one journalist shares personal insights on the changes and their impact on the industry.
